


Breaking the line

by moschonn



Category: Brave (2012), Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Tamers, How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-18
Updated: 2014-08-31
Packaged: 2018-01-19 22:01:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1485607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moschonn/pseuds/moschonn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A multicross over combining 'How to train your dragon', 'Brave', 'Digimon' and an OC of mine within a modern day AU.<br/>Inspired by the amazing AvannaK's mordern Httyd-AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nightly meetings

**Author's Note:**

> Just a heads-up before you emerge yourself in my story: I don't know the first thing about motorcycles, and this is purely for shit and giggles, gratuitous action scenes and wild plot bunnies.

A wonderfully clear night sky spread over Bayview city. On the parking lot of a gas station in Beacon Hill two men waited near their motorcycles. The younger one, a Japanese with auburn hair, clad in a flashy blue jacket with a orange flame pattern, as well as black boots and pants, paced up and down like a tiger in its cage. The other one, also Japanese, with blonde hair, wearing a less flashy blue-gray combo, had leaned back on his ride and sighed when he spoke up in his native tongue: “Daisuke, could you relax for a minute. They said to meet us at midnight. It’s not even eleven forty. If you need something to do, make a quick cruise around the block or something.”

The younger man looked at his companion and replied likewise in Japanese: “No, what if they show up just when I’m gone?”

“Then I’ll excuse you and we’ll wait for you.” The other replied, his calmness somewhat tainted with annoyance. “Not everybody is a fidget like you.”

“I’m not a fidget.” He snapped back. Then he looked at the pile of empty coffee cups next to his companion, who had missed the trash bin time and again. “How are you not a nervous wreck with all that caffeine in your system?”

“Acquired resistance” was the simple answer. Then the blond set up on his bike.

“What? You see them?” The brunette asked, his mood lighting up.

“No, I just got to take a leak.” With this, he trudged toward a coffee shop across the street. Minutes of continued nervous pacing on the part of Davis, his companion returned, a fresh cup of steaming brown liquid in one hand. “Now this is crackbrained, Matt. You just had to piss because of that stuff and now you’re coming back with another coffee.”

“Yes, so? It’s not like I can’t take it”

Just when he had once again laid down of his bike, they heard a distant rumbling resonating through the urban canyons of the city, quickly closing in on their position. Then three motorcycles, quite obviously the source of the noises, appeared, approaching the pair from three directions. The first one to reach them was a dark green Yamaha. Its driver pulled up next to them, dismounted his vehicle and removed his helmet. A distinctive face with a dark complexion and a bright grin surfaced. “Hey there, ye two. Glad ye could make it. I’m Anjo.” He extended his hand in greeting. The two Asians shook it, a little confused by the unusual accent they couldn’t quite place.

Just then, the second bike, a black Suzuki with prominent chromed parts, stopped some feet away from them. The driver remained in her seat, just took off her helmet and revealed a wild mane of red curls, hardly tamed by a blue and white bandana. “Hello.” She said, eyeing the both of them skeptically. Finally, she came over and put forth her hand. “A’m Alba.” she said in a thick Scottish accent. Again, a round of handshakes was exchanged.

Finally, the last of the trio arrived. A black blur flitting by was all they saw at first. Then, they made out a matte black bike, pulling around in a five hundred forty degrees turn and coming towards them with alarming speed. Davis was ready to jump out of the way any second, but the bike came to a stop just three feet in front of Matt and him. The driver seemed to take no notice of them, unhurriedly dismounting, taking off his helmet and laying it down, kicking out the stand and pulling out the ignition key. It was not till then that he turned towards the newcomers, his features hidden beneath a balaclava. “Hey you two.” He said in a nonchalant voice. “Nice to meet you. ” He shook hands with the both of them. “Please call me Night Fury, or Fury, if you need something shorter.” He smiled beneath the cloth in front of his face.

“Alright. I’m glad you all agreed to this meeting.” Matt greeted, smiling back to the three of them. “I’m Yamato, and this is Daisuke.” He gestured to the younger man. “but we’re going by Matt and Davis while we’re here.”

“Tha’s good. A can’t remember theese foraign naymes for the life o’ me.” Alba replied, the meaning of the words almost unintelligible through her accent.

“Ye had no trouble remembering my name, though.” Anjo chipped in.

“Ah, shut ahp.” Alba said with a smile and a shrug, bopping his shoulder lightly.

“So, why did you want to meet us anyway?” Night Fury brought the conversation back on track.

“Well we missed our ride home yesterday and now, it looks like we’re stuck here for some months.” Matt answered. “So, we thought, while we’re here, we should make the most of it and do some tours. Sadly, we have no idea about any good routes around here, so we asked on the internet forum, and you know the rest.”

“Well the’ ye’ll be glad tea hear ye picked th’ right guys for tha’ job.” Alba grinned. “We ken ev’ry freeway an’ side street like the backs o’ aor hands.”

“Oh really?” Davis asked in a challenging tone, one eye brow raised and a sly smirk tugging on his lips. “Care to proof that claim?”

“Oh for the love of… do you have to make everything a competition?” Davis answer was cut off by Alba: “’course I can proof eet. Ye up fo this, guys.” She asked her companions, who were already putting on their helmets again.

“Should we show ‘em the ocean drive?” Anjo asked.

“I’d say. It’s a nice drive and not that far away.” Night Fury replied. The five of them started up their machines and Alba took the lead. She lead them down a paved road that seemed to be a shopping street by day. Now, in the dead of night, only the brightly illuminated display windows indicated the normal hustle. At the end of this road they took a right, past a palace-like building. Then in a sharp left turn, they cross the sidewalk and a patch of lawn, their tires flinging sods up the air. The road ran around the palace for a bit and at one point, they cut another corner and again, greens were sent flying. They took two right turn in quick succession and rode down towards the big suspension bridge, that connected Beacon Hill with the city center. Just short of the crossway directly in front of it, she stopped and let the boys pull up around her.

“Wow, that was quite a ride.” Matt commented, when he had pulled off his helmet. “But I didn’t see much coast on your so called ‘ocean drive’.”

Alba folded up her visor to answer him. “That’s because this wasn’t the ocean drive.”

Davis replied a brimming with intelligence “Huh?”

“The ocean drive begins here.” Night Fury explained. “Or at the other end, it doesn’t matter which way you drive. It’s a scenic route, so we wouldn’t want to spoil it by tearing down it.”

“Yeah, you can take your time here.” Anjo added. “It’s not a race, and traffic is low at any time of the day.”

“Perfect for me then.” Matt grinned and put his helmet back on. Alba, on the other hand, took hers off, tying it to the handle of her bike instead.

Now, they drove at a slow pace of not even twenty miles per hour, took a right which led to a coast road. It took course south of Beacon hill, past hotels, restaurants, cafes. Near the end, there was even a small Ferris wheel on an old dock. Across the water, on the other side of the bay, the lights of the city enlightened the night. The road made a slight bend to the left, only to then turn into a series of three hairpin turns. The three locals sped up to quickly put this section of the route behind them. Their ‘guests’ took a moment to realize this and were left behind for a bit. However, they eventually caught up again at a crossroads, where the trio waited for them.

“Sorry about that.” Anjo apologized after they had stopped. “We always kinda rush through this part. Nothing to see and the turns are more fun at high speeds anyway.”

“No prob.” Matt replied with a smile. “Nothing happened and you waited for us, so no harm done.”

“Okay, let’s get on with eet.” Alba called out, putting her helmet back on. They went to the left and pressed on to the Heights, a classy quarter full with mansions of the rich. Another left, followed by a short straight, a slight double bend and a wide right, where Davis couldn’t but slither over a gravel bed. It wasn’t a problem for his motocross Yamaha, though. Now, they were on the road uphill.

Alba, Anjo and Davis had fun testing their limits and those of their machines, cutting corners or drifting out to the outermost edges. Night Fury and Matt, on the other hand took on the road in their own ways, with Fury dashing up the hill at top speed and Matt taking his time. Naturally, he was the last to arrive at the end, marked by a small viewing platform that provided an amazing outlook over the city and the bay. The others were leaning on the railing, enjoying the panorama spreading before them.

A quiet “Woah…” was all Matt could utter, taken aback from the sight.

”Yeah, eet’s beautiful.” Alba replied, her tone a whisper as well. “And eet doesn’t stahp being beautiful, eether. A grew up here and A live here, but this view never stahps tae overwhelm me.”

They stood there for a while, forgetting everything around them and time even more. But eventually, Anjo pushed himself off the balustrade and went to his bike. “Guys, it was a pleasure meeting the both of and cruising with ye, but I need my sleep. See ye around, I guess?” He said in an inquiring tone.

“Yeah, sure. We’ll be around town for a bit anyway.”

“Cool” With this, he sped off, driving down the way they came.

His engine noise ultimately breaking the spell, Alba and Fury departed soon, too. While Alba just bid a short “Bye!” before she accelerated to cross the mountainside, Night Fury took his time. “You guys like our ocean drive?”

“Yeah, it’s a fun route.” Davis replied, grinning.

“And that view is amazing.” Matt added, thumbing over his shoulder.

“Great.” Night Fury was obviously glad they liked it. “We could do a little tour like this again, if you want. Just text me on the forum so we can arrange something.”

“Will do.” Matt assured with a smirk, winking and giving a thumbs up. With a final wave, Fury made off further uphill. The two Japanese bikers shared a last view over the bay, before they too made their exit.


	2. Dare Devils from Far East

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italic style means, characters are talking another language than English.
> 
> And now, enjoy!

A week later, Saturday night, somewhere in Pigeon Park:

"Wooohooo!" A Japanese biker shouted, imitating Blur to a T, as he jumped off a bump in the road and stretching his arms up in the air. He landed beside the road on the pavement where the cobbles bucketed him about, forcing him to slow down somewhat. When he got back on the asphalt, another motorcycle shot past him: a friend of his, eventhough she wouldn’t like this particular wording. He grinned to himself and gave chase. Her Ninja was faster, but his own Enduro had an edge in terms of mobility. It would make for a pulsating race…

Not a full mile away, Davis and Matt had met with Anjo and Night Fury at the beginning of the Ocean Drive and where just about to get ready to explore El Norte, the old core of the city, which was nowadays a nightclub district. Just when they where in the process of mounting their machines, two blurs flew past them, the first even almost crashing into Anjo.

"What the…?" Davis dumbfoundedly stared after the two… things, while Matt asked Anjo if he was alright.

"Yeah, I’m fine." He replied. "But these guys are insane. What the hell are they thinking?"

"I don’t know, but I’m kinda eager to find out." Fury said, jumped onto his bike and shot after them.

"Fuck!" Anjo spat. "Not again." He mounted his own motorcycle and gave chase, closely followed by the two Asians.

The ride went across the bay, over a short distance on the freeway, then into the city center, down an avenue. Night Fury was way ahead of the other three, gaining on the two speed merchants by the second. They took a quick right turn, into a street that led towards a brightly illuminated roundabout traffic. Matt was pretty sure they would loose them beyond that, leaving it to Night Fury to hunt them down. He was proven wrong when he saw the three of them entering the rotary, driving through it without much braking – only to come back at them seconds later. Just before the crash, however, they took a left, speeding into a blocked area under construction, inbetween the barriers. Davis flashed into action, changing course and suddenly was head-to-head with Fury, whos bike had slight problems on the gravelly floor. The six riders shot over the brash, their wheels sending sand and pebbles flying. Eventually, the construction side ended and they turned left onto a tarmac again. At the next crossing, Anjo deflected to the right, while everybody else head on straight forward. Matt didn’t know what he intended, but followed him anyway.

Meanwhile, the speedsters were on course toward a big hotel complex, Davis and Night Fury still hot on their heels. Suddenly, the two drove up the gateway to the hotel rather than past it. Fury gestured Davis to follow them directly, just before he sped past the first inlet and then drifted into the second, almost completely pinning them. They were about to alter their course down the gravel bed that fell into line with the gateway, when Anjo and Matt approached from that exact direction. Finally, they gave up. Or so it seemed, since one of them advanced Matt by foot, took off her helmet, gripped it tightly and slipped it over his head. Furtunately, the strike didn’t do much damage as he was still wearing his headgear.

"Ow!" He cried out, more from shock than from pain. "What the hell was that for?"

Rather than answering him, she let loose an avalanche of Japanese curses.

[i]"Wow, that’s a lot of ugly words coming from such a pretty girl."[/i] Davis, always the wannabe-womanizer, made a rather plump attempt at flirting. The redheaded woman spun around and shot him a death glare. Then she stomped towards him, raising the helmet for another blow. Just then the other driver grabbed her in a hammerlock, forcing her to let go off the helmet. The duo began to wrestle, astonishedly watched by the other four. The second driver yelled at the girl to calm down, who in turn just growled and snarled unintelligibility. After breathless moments of grappling, she gave up and let herself hang loosely in his arms. Then she tensioned again and broke from his grip, yet didn’t appear to be keen on hitting people over the head anymore.

_"Sorry about her."_ The other driver apologized in Japanese, with a slight Kyushu-accent. "She’s not used to being stopped so insistently like that."

_"And she has a bad temper."_ Matt added, finally doffing his helmet to rub the spot were he was hit.

_"Could you stop talking about me like I’m not here?!"_ the redhead spat, startling Matt as well as her companion somewhat.

"Uh, guys?" Anjo cut in before anybody could answer her. "Subtitles, please?"

\- - -

An hour later, the five of them – Night Fury had excused himself with something about needing to get up early the next day – sat around a table at a burger joint.

The two newcomers had introduced themselves as Ryou and Ruki. They hadn’t anticipated for anybody to be on the road at the dead of night, so they saw it fit to step on it. Anjo had replied to that with the remark that in the center of a big city like Bayview, there never was a time when the roads where completely free. In his opinion, Ruki, should have known that, with her being from Tokyo. In turn, the redhead had become angry again and had almost strangled the poor guy.

Now, the dust had settled and them being full made it easier to stay calm for everyone. “So why are you here anyway?” Matt asked between two sips of soda. “I mean, you’re obviously not here for a road trip like the both of us.” He gestured to himself, then Davis.

"None of your business." Ruki answered snappishly. Aggression had never left her the whole time, but she had given up on physical violence and settled on acidic comments every now and then.

Ryou, on the other hand, was more ready to explain: “Well, we needed a change of pace. Tokio is exciting, but it does get dull when you are seeing the same faces and places every day. ”

“I never really felt that way.” Davis said, looking up from his leftover fries. Ryou gave him an questioning look, to which he added: “I mean, we live in Odaiba, that’s not exactly downtown, but it never was boring there.”

“Still, you came here.” The southern Japanese retorted with a smile. “What’s your excuse?”

“Like he said, we took a road trip.” Davis thumbed to Matt. “One of this ‘once in a live time’ things, y’know?” He grinned in this unique way of his, boasting with confidence, yet simultaneously giving the impression of rather low intellect.

“Yeah, I think I get it.” Ryou smirked back. It was a similar, yet more intelligent expression on his features.

“Whatever.” Ruki huffed, her voice ripe with annoyance and boredom. “I don’t know what you pansies are planning, but I’ll go out for a cruise.” She stood and left the restaurant without any more words. Ryou sighed, looked at his acquaintances apologetically, and followed her.

“So what do we do now?” Matt asked Anjo. Yet, he looked just as perplexed as the blonde felt.

“We watch out they don’t crash into something, of course.” Davis decided for them and stormed off to his bike.

“Well, there’s your answer.” Anjo shrugged and got up, too, heading for the parking lot. There, the three others were already back on the road and went for the next drive up to the highway. The gave chase, however they knew they wouldn’t be able keep up if the others didn’t want them two.

Surprisingly, Ruki – it was obvious that the redhead dictated the speed – did allow them to keep up, even closing in on them. She then proceeded to lead them to Beacon Hill. A short while later, they had left the iconic suspension bridge behind and were now on the road through Pigeon Park. Here, Ruki had accelerated massively, leaving the boys in the dust. Thereupon, Anjo had gestured for Ryou and Davis to follow her directly. Matt and himself would turn around and take the short route to the other end of the road, thus once again trapping her. Davis nodded and chased after the girl, Ryou at his side. The Kawasaki came in sight soon, yet, surprisingly, beside it was the iconic silhouette of Night Fury on his custom bike. He had already passed her and was now forcing her to slow down and stop. Again, Ruki was furious, but didn’t even get the chance to take off her helmet, let alone hitting him with it: Ryou had grabbed her again, with Davis doing his level best to help.

Night Fury took off his own helmet, glaring at the girl at least as angry as she stared at him. His wrath thinly veiled, he snarled in a low voice: “Okay, since it doesn’t look like you got the message the first time, I’ll say it again: Don’t tear like that! There are always people on the go ‘round here, even this late in the night. Do you want to kill somebody?”

“You’re not the boss of me!” Ruki shot back. “I’ll drive how I want to, and you’re not going to stop me.”

He snorted, half-amused “I just did.”

Ruki didn’t take well to his attitude: “That was just luck!”

“Was it, now?” He retorted, a hint of haughtiness sneaking into his tone. “So, why don’t you prove it? We race. Uphill. I’ll try and stop you as often as I can, you try to get away from me, out of sight. If I stop you five times before you get away once, I win. If not, you do. What do you say?” He stretched out his hand expectantly.

“You’ll eat dust!”

“We’ll see about that, won’t we?” He grinned provokingly under his mask.

\- - -

Minutes later, they where at the improvised scratch line, facing the hillside they were about to rush up. “You know the track?” Night Fury ensured again “First left, left again, then a right and then straight ahead until you’re past the observatory.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it.” Ruki was growing more impatient by the second. “Can we get this over with, already?”

Davis stood before them as they got ready. He gave the signal and they were off. Ruki wasn’t a bad driver, far from it. Fury knew he had to work to win this. However, he had the home field advantage and he had carefully agitated the girl, hoping that it would lead her to make a mistake. His tactic seemed to work out, since Ruki missed the racing line for the first two bends and barely hit it for the third. He easily passed her and forced her to stop the first time.

He continued to easily outdistance her again and again, stopping her for a fifth time before the observatory even came in sight.

“So?” Night Fury seemed to expect something.

“Yeah, okay, you won.” She gnarled through gritted teeth. “So what? You want some kind of trophy or something?”

“No. Just your word that you won’t endanger yourself and others anymore.”

“Fine.” Ruki sighed in defeat. She wasn’t a good loser to say the least, but she couldn’t deny Fury had beat her fair and square. She turned around, mounted her bike again and rode onward to the observatory at a mediocre pace, just when the others appeared.

“Who won?” Anjo asked, but had a strong suspicion.

“Not her.” Despite his victory, Fury didn’t seem to happy with the situation.

“Tell me, what was that about you needing your beauty sleep?” Anjo inquired half-serious, a smirk tugging on his lips, partly out of curiosity, partly to change the seemingly awkward topic. Fury gave him a grateful look before answering: “Well, you know how it is. I was about to head home, but then I couldn’t keep myself from making a detour of two.”

“Or ten.” Anjo added, smirking. “Umm, well, maybe it was for the best. None of us could have pulled that off.”

“Not on that bike, no.” Fury gave his vehicle a once over. The Yamaha was large engined, yet very heavy: Perfect for a relaxed tour down the coast, but next to useless in a race, due to lacking acceleration. “You do know I could tweak her somewhat, don’t you?”

“Yeah, but I’d like to do that myself.”

“No offense, but you’re a raw beginner.” The masked biker replied . “You shouldn’t start with a machine like this. Try something cheaper, were the damage you could do isn’t as big. I’ll see what I can do for your baby here. Just bring her to ‘Gobber’s Engines’ over at Berk Docks any time next week.”

“You won’t stop nagging until I let you do it, anyway, won’t you?”

“Nope.” Again, Fury grinned beneath his balaklava.

“Fine, whatever.” Anjo let his shoulders sack in defeat. “I’ll bring it over on Tuesday or something.”

“Great, see you then.” He got on his bike and departed.

A short moment of silence followed, finally broken by Ryou: “Looks like I’ll have to hunt down an amazon, now.”

“Need help?” Davis offered, unaware of Matt’s tired groaning.

“No, it’s alright, but thanks.” he dismissed with a wave of his hand. “I think I know where I can find her.” He, too, made off, following the way his companion had taken minutes earlier.

Matt and Davis looked at each other for a second, then they also drove down the hillside.

\- - -

The moon had disappeared behind the horizon and the sun was already sending the first faint rays ahead, heralding its soon-to-come rise. Ruki had settled down on the parking lot opposite from the observatory. She laid on her back, staring up at the red sky, still thinking about that infuriating rider. ‘Who does he think he is, ordering me around like that?’ She wondered angrily. Suddenly, she heard footsteps and set up.

_“How did I know I’d find you here?”_ Ryou asked, before she could turn around. Despite its distinctive sound, he hadn’t heard his bike nearing her.

_“Because you found out what kind of places I like by means of obnoxious stalking?”_ She retorted sarcastically, annoyed by his mere presence. [i]“Can’t you leave me some time to myself.”

_“I did. More than four hours, actually.”_ He stated. A quick glance at her cell phone confirmed this.

_“What the hell did you do all that time?”_ The redhead asked without any real interest.

_“I rode around town”_ He answered. _“I was sure I’d find you here, but I knew you needed time to cool off.”_

_“And what do you plan to do now?”_ She wanted to know, standing up. _“Because I don’t want to do anything.”_

_“You do need to sleep sometime, too.”_ He gestured to the city beneath them, meaning their hotel. _“C’mon. You can’t stay here the whole night.”_

_“The night is over.”_ She replied dryly, pointing toward the slowly brightening sky, but got on her bike nevertheless. Without waiting for him, she drove down the hill.

_“Finally."_ Ryou muttered under his breath and went to his own ride. He took out his phone and typed a quick message, before following Ruki.

\- - -

Seconds later, in a bedroom in Tokyo, a worried mother could finally go to sleep, knowing her daughter had made it safely through another day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will focus on Hiccup, one of his many day jobs and his skill as a mechanic. Stay tuned!


	3. Lizards, shooting stars and other mechanic tools

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you have seen with Alba and Anjo, I will try and 'simulate' different accents in my writing. Any tips for that would be much appreciated.

„Heccup!“ Gobber's angry voice already greeted him at the entrance to the garage. „Why in Oden's name are ye so late?“ The veteran mechanic had made it a habit to swear by the old Norse gods. Few others did as well, the rest and especially the younger generations going with more common curses.  
“Slept in, sorry! I was up late studying.” The young man apologized, fatigue still lingering in his voice and features.  
“Studying?” The mechanic's eyebrow rose in disbelieve. “Ye ne'er need tae study. Ye were tinkering with tha' infernal machine o' yers again, weren't ye?”  
“Busted!” Hiccup muttered, guiltily turning around to face his boss.  
Gobber let out a heavy sigh. “Boy, I know how much ye like workin' o' tha' bike, but ye need to get yer prioritees straight. If ye wanna keep this job, ye can't come an' go whenever ye want. Also, I can't do without my best mechanic.”  
“Woah, that's a first.” The teen replied. “Since when am I your best mech? That's you.”  
“No, I'm not.” Gobber insisted. “Ye lack the strength to lift up some o' the heavier parts, but ye have more technical understanding than I ever had. Ye going to be one of the really great engineers one day, right up there with Benz and Ford. And when that day comes, I'll get tae brag that all that started in ma humble little smithy.” He seemed a little melancholic for a moment, before he got back to business mode. “Anyway, get to work. Some guy brought his motorcycle here earlier for ye to optimize. Said, a friend recommended ye. Ye starting tae build some rep out there, ye kno'?”  
Hiccup instantly knew who this 'some guy' was and secretly thanked José to help maintain his cover without being asked. He went into the actual garage and saw the metallic green Yamaha Star V950 standing there in all its glory. He couldn't help but grin. This would be fun.

\- - -

About noon, he stood up from his work, holding the last body panel in his hands. The bike stood before him, the chassis exposed. Now, he would replace...  
“Oi, Heccup.” Gobber called over to him. “Lunch break, get something to eat. Yer father's gonna kill me if ye collapse in here from exhaustion.”  
“Like that's going to happen.” Hiccup replied with a chuckle. “You know I can take more than I look like.”  
“Ye're one tough cookie, I'll give ye that.” Gobber admitted. “But still, have a break.”  
Hiccup didn't like to be torn out of a steady routine like the one he'd been in, but Gobber wasn't going stop bothering him until he did take that break. So he put the panel aside and went to his locker to get his lunch. He decided to sit outside and settled down on the low wall framing the front yard. Just when he was about to bite into his sandwich, someone called out for him.  
“Hey, Hiccup.” His mouth still hanging open, he turned his head to face the newcomer. However, he quickly snapped it shut when he realized who was coming his way. “Oh, um, hey Astrid.” he greeted the blond girl. “What brings you to this humble establishment on this fine day?”  
“You have the weirdest habits.” She chuckled at his oddly worded question. “Anyway, I just wanted you to look at the Wrangler. The engine's been acting up lately, sputtering for no reason.”  
“You want me to look at your car?” Hiccup asked with mock incredulity, a hand at his chin, faking deep thought. “What have I done to deserve this honor?”  
“Drop the act, Hiccup.” The girl gave him an flat look. Alas, he didn't change his expression one bit, so her facade crumbled and she started laughing. “Dang it, Hiccup, do you have to do this every time you see me?”  
“Do what?” the boy asked with an innocent smile, barely covering his mischief.  
“Making me having stitches.” Astrid forced out between giggles.  
“It's your own fault if it's so much fun to make you laugh.” he responded honestly, still smiling. “But back to business. What was that about your engine?” They walked over to the car and Astrid opened up the hood. Hiccup thrust his sandwich into her hand and dove into the engine bay. What followed was a amalgam of muffled cursed, hands and head bumping into things and weird noises of unknown origin. After a minute or two of this, he came up again, a rather content smile on his now oil-stained face, his dirty hands firmly clamped around something squirming inside.  
“You should be more careful who gets a lift from you.” With this, he uncurled his right pointer and middle finger, revealing the head of a small yellow-teal iguana. Astrid stared at the reptile in pure shock, the animal looking back at her in what seemed to be curiosity.  
“What the heck?” was all she could utter. Carefully, Hiccup set the small creature down on the sun heated stone wall, were it curled up in itself, soaking in the warmth of the August sun.  
“Looks like he was enjoying the warmth in there.” The iguana “He may have nibbled some of the wires and cords, so we'll exchange them.” He wiped his hands on his dungarees, before sitting down next to the reptile, taking his sandwich back and finally biting into it. The animal didn't move one bit “Afte' lunff, fhat ish.” He added, chewing, which sent Astrid into another fit of giggles.  
\- - -  
One and a half hours later, the wires and cords were replaced, any other damages the animal may have caused removed and the engine was purring like a kitten again. A 4500 pound kitten, but no less.  
Astrid had just paid and was about to head out again, when she remembered something and turned back to face Hiccup. “So, the guys and me wanted to watch a movie tonight, over at 'lout's. You wanna come?”  
“What kind of movie?” Hiccup sceptically asked.  
“It's the guys, so guess.” The girl herself didn't seem too excited to go, either.  
“A mindless action flick, great.” He sighed. It would be nice to spend some time with the gang again, but this kind of entertainment left its charm for him long ago.  
“Yeah, Fishlegs said something about the forth 'Die Hard' movie.” She didn't pay attention of anthologies of any kind, so she had no idea what that meant. “He even sounded kind of excited.” Hiccup, on the other hand, perked up at this. “Why didn't you say so in the first place? I'll be there.”  
“Huh? What's with the sudden change of mind?” Astrid wanted to know.  
“You'll see then.” Hiccup grinned and got back to work. She continued to try and get a straight answer from him, but he was relentless in his silence. Finally she gave up and said goodbye to both him and Gobber.  
\- - -  
When the movie was over, Astrid knew why the two 'nerds' of their little group had been so eager to see the movie. Bruce Willis' sidekick had had several moments to shine, showing off either his computer skills or sheer badassery. Also, he was funny as heck. It was no wonder Hiccup liked a character like that.  
“So what now?” Tuffnut asked, leaning back into his seat. According to experience, both he and his sister were quickly bored. Bad things tended to happen when the twins were bored.  
“I did bring another movie.” Fishlegs chipped in. The rest of them faced him, Astrid and Hiccup looking curious, Snotlout and the twins rather doubtfully.  
“What movie?” The hulking football player that was Johan 'Snotlout' Jorgensen inquired.  
“The Avengers” Fishlegs answered carefully. Three faces lit up at this, two fell. Within seconds, Hiccup felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. A text from Astrid was the cause.   
[ive seen it already. twice. lets get out of here] Normally, Hiccup wasn't a fan of texting when you were within earshot of each other, but this was an exception. He looked at her, nodded and stood up.   
“Guys, we gotta go. Work in the morning and stuff.” Astrid excused them.  
“Yeah, sure.” Ruffnut remarked sarcastically. “Just admit it that you and your lover boy are going to have some fun elsewhere.” She pushed her tongue into her cheek and moved her hand in front of her face to imitate a blowjob.  
Hiccup blushed violently at that, but Astrid remained cool as a cucumber: “You're just envious because you don't have a lover boy to have fun with.”  
“Hey, it's not my fault none of the boys 'round here know how to handle all this.” She gestured down herself.  
Tuffnut made disgusted noise. “Hello, brother sitting right here. I don't need to hear this.”  
“Stuff your ears then!” Both girls replied in unison. It was beyond Hiccup how the both of them could be so in synch one moment and flinging slurs at each other the next. It must have been a girls thing guys just could not get.  
“Anyway, we'll be off.” Astrid waved to them. “See y'all around!” In an uncharacteristic trace of good manners, Snotlout saw them out. When the door had closed behind them, Astrid looked around carefully and asked: “Wanna go for a spin?”  
“What?” Hiccup looked at her baffled. “You don't even have a helmet, not to speak of all the other gear.”  
“I didn't say we go and try to set a new record. Just a fun cruise along the beach, nothing fancy.” It was hard to resist Astrid Hofferson's smile. In fact, it was nothing short of impossible.  
“Fine, but I drive.” Astrid's smile fell and she started to glare at him. “Don't give me that look. I still remember what happened last time I let you take the handle. Hell, I still have sand in some pockets.”  
“It's not my fault if you can't hold on.” Astrid smirked smugly.  
“But it is your fault when you drive like a maniac.” Hiccup retorted irritated. “You almost crashed my bike! You know how much work I put in him!”  
“You're doing it again.” The girl looked at him with an annoyed expression.  
“What?” He stopped his rant, and blinked at her, clueless as to what she could mean.  
“You addressed the bike like a person.” She replied dryly.  
“Did I?” The blonde just nodded tiredly. “Damnit. Anyway, you still want to take that cruise?”  
“'course.”  
They walked the short distance to Hiccup's home, were he unlocked the garage door, opened it and pushed the matte black machine outside. Astrid looked at it in awe for the upteenth time.  
“So, what's up? You gonna stand there all night?” Hiccup mocked, which caused her to glare at him for a second, then jump on the seat right behind him, wrapping her arms around his chest. After he made sure she was safely seated, he sped off towards the beach. There, he slowed down and turned into the sandy boardwalk, careful not to get into the deep sand on either side. The seafront ran around half of Berk, from the marina all the way to the road connecting the quarter with the rest of Bayview.  
Astrid, who had been tensely clinging to him, relaxed and leaned on him now. He enjoyed the feeling of her body against his. It was comforting. Astrid had been his best friend since they were toddlers, and as they grew up, through middle school, puberty and all the awkwardness these brought with them, they had never really fought, rarely even argued during all that time. They were each others asylum, a safe harbor they could seek out when everything around them seemed to overwhelm them. But despite more or less implicit allusions by friends and family, they never hooked up.  
Suddenly, Astrid tapped him on the shoulder and called for him to halt, ripping him from his thoughts. “What's wrong?” he asked after he had stopped the bike. Instead of giving an answer she grabbed his wrist and led him towards the water. Next to a large stone she dropped into the sand, pulling Hiccup down with her. Using the rock as a back rest, the blonde stared up into the night sky, seemingly waiting for something. Hiccup was about to ask what in hell all this was good for, when she silently pointed upwards. A shooting star made its way across the firmament, soon followed by a second. Before long, they were sprinkled over the canopy above them. Only now, Hiccup remembered the date and whispered: “The Perseids...”  
“Yup!” the blonde answered somewhat smugly. They watched the cosmic hail in awe, pointing out particular bright meteors to one another every now and then. They couldn't tell how long they had sat there, when the last shooting star had faded. Judging by their sore necks, it had been quite a while.  
“What did you wish for?” Astrid finally asked.  
“What? Since when am I superstitious?” Hiccup replied, a chuckle in his tone. “Besides, everybody knows it won't come true if you tell somebody.”  
Despite herself, Astrid started giggling again. “You're insufferable.” She lightly nudged his side with her elbow.  
“So I've been told.” he retorted dryly and started poking her ribs in return. “Still, you voluntarily consort with me. What does that make you?”  
She shoved him away from her, thus stopping the poking. “The epitome of tolerance and patience.”  
“Either that or flat old masochistic.” He engaged her again with raised pointer fingers, ready to continue the poke onslaught.  
“Maso-...?” Astrid gasped in mock shock, deflecting his fingers time and again. “Joakim Horrendous Havoc, I am shocked you would impute such a thing to a fine lady.”  
“Fine lady?” He went with the joke. “I was actually talking about you.”  
Fed up with his sass as well as his poking, Astrid tackled him to the ground, startling him. “You're out of practice. Normally, I wouldn't be able to catch you off guard like this.”  
He stood up and spewed out sand. “Whatever, I just want a shower now. I feel like I have sand everywhere.”  
“Me too, you don't hear me complaining.” She supplied while she dusted herself off.  
“I couldn't change that by just ditching you here.” He smirked mischievously.  
“You wouldn't dare.” She shook her fist at him.  
“Probably not, but you never know what turpitude I'm ready to commit.” He let out a very convincing super villain laughter. Astrid couldn't help but laugh at this performance. When they had calmed down, went over to the bike, hopped on it and finally drove home.


End file.
